The Windows Store and its mobile counterpart have been starving for new apps since their inception, with every other major player in the software industry focusing their efforts primarily on iOS, Android and OS X. Even if the app does eventually make it to Microsoft’s desktop or mobile app store, it is left without updates for months on end.

The Facebook app that made its way to the Windows Store during the Windows 8 days and the one made for Windows Phone 7 have suffered the same fate, without support for many of the latest features that have made their way to the social network. It seems that is about to change, as the company has today announced the release of new native apps with all the latest available features for the current iteration of Microsoft’s desktop and mobile operating systems. Facebook and Facebook Messenger for Windows 10 as well as a new Instagram app for Windows 10 Mobile are now available to download.

The new Facebook app is claimed to be much faster than the old Windows 8 variant, which it will be replacing in the Windows Store. It comes with a new Live Tile and support for latest features such as Reactions, Stickers in comments, birthday and event reminders and, as one would expect, native desktop notifications. It also packs a built-in browser for easier reading and sharing of articles.

A similar set of features has been packed into the new Facebook Messenger app along with support for Stickers, GIFs and group conversations. The biggest advantage of these apps over the web interface would be the desktop notifications, which allow you to view all of your latest interactions on the network right from within the Action Center, without having to launch an app or web browser.

The most important feature that the new Instagram app brings is support for video uploads – a feature that still hasn’t made its way to the official Windows Phone beta. Windows Phone fans no longer need to turn to third-party alternatives like 6tag just to get videos onto their favorite media sharing network. Let’s hope that Facebook continues to support this release as well as its Windows 10 apps as consistently as it does apps on other platforms.

You can download Facebook and Messenger for Windows 10 from the Windows Store right now while the new Instagram app too is live on the Windows Phone Store.

I'm an engineer, blogger, and graphic designer who loves creating and experimenting with different forms of online content when he's not looking for a mix of inspiration and escape in PC gaming, comic books and anime. You can find me on Twitter and Google+.